Flowers For Astaroth
by mastersam
Summary: Astaroth awakens to find himself in some mysterious and marvelous place, known to many as the City Park. Unsure of what to do, Astaroth decides to think about it all. Drabbles of kids, a giant and happiness abound, along with copious amounts of silliness.
1. Grass

It was dark. Very dark, to be exact. Astaroth felt like something was being held over his face, and it was wiry and cool and it kept trying to poke through his eyelids. He made a loud, guttural moan, and realized that it sounded very muffled, even more than that mask he usually wore made it him sound. His first idea was to think about what could possibly be discomforting him so much without actually hurting him, and doing so all over, but thinking never did Astaroth any good. It only served to irritate him, because it meant that there were too many little things to go through his head, and if it was little, it never mattered. His second idea was to get whatever was all over her front off of himself, and to accomplish this he placed the palms of his large hands adjacently to his shoulders before giving a mighty heave, pushing away the thing that was in front of him.

In doing so, Astaroth found that he was not under the thing that was weakly attempting to smother him, but that _he _was on top of _it_. The force of his shove succeeded in flipping him over his back, now laying against what was determined to be thick, slightly crunchy grass. It was not so textured out of dryness so much as it was just how stiff the juicy blades were. The wetness it made on his back was less irritating than the poking it had done to his face, and so he felt content to lay there for a moment while making sure that he was unhurt and that nothing was missing. He clenched his fists.

His fingers were there, and so were his bracers.

He curled his toes.

They rubbed against the inner soles of the great leather boots he wore.

He then felt something press his heart lightly. He didn't want to move that yet, so he knew that something was near, and within arm's reach. Astaroth's eyes shot wide open and he roared aloud as he sat up, blindly grabbing at whatever was at his side, the perpetrator of fondling his body parts. His great hand met with an arm that was the width of a large sword's hilt, and he looked in the thing's direction, seeing a little boy. There were many more children about him as well, shrieking out of fear, though the golem paid them no mind. His blank, yet angry-looking eyes met the boy's large, brown and wet ones, the poor child quaking with terror. Astaroth soon lost his interest, however, when it was evident that the boy had soiled himself; Astaroth did not find that amusing in the least, and so he let the child flee after releasing his hold.

Once he felt that he was alone, Astaroth scanned the grass about him to find his beloved axe laying within arm's reach from him; he felt much happier and more comfortable when his fingers wrapped around the thick wooden handle, and one could tell that he smiled by his eyes' slight squinting. He forced himself to stand, being a tad stiff, and then looked about the place.

It was huge, all of it; he was standing under an oak tree of reasonable size, but not two hundred yards from him was the most magnificent tower he'd ever seen, even taller and bigger around than the Tower of Remembrance, and covered with lots and lots of mirrors. The sun shining on them reflected a bit and stung Astaroth's eyes, and so he turned away from the thing. What amazed him most was how many other structures there were of such magnitude, and he wanted to see them all, for something of that size would not be made without having used great power, and most likely held even more power inside than was used in its creation. With so many of them about, Astaroth considered the possibility of there being just as many swords equivalent to Soul Edge inside them as well. The idea was overwhelming and it made his head hurt. He needed to sit down, and did just that, flopping to the ground and putting his axe, Kulutes, over his shoulder.

Though he tried to think, he'd never been one to do so very often. He was out of practice, and it showed, for he was able to bring nothing to his mind at the time. He'd even forgot what he was trying to think about. That made him shift uncomfortably, and he then decided that, if he sat and thought enough, he'd remember, and so he leaned forward and propped his chin on a curled fist that rested on his bent knee.


	2. The Daisy

"Hey! Look at that guy!"

"Yeah, he's so big and ugly!"

"Do you fink we can make him leave?"

"I dunno, he's probably so big he'd eat us alive or somefing."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But he's weird-looking, we need to-"

"I think he looks nice."

All of the children, having gathered into a mass of glances and loud whispers had been peering at the giant, who had been sitting in one spot under the tree for quite some time now. They turned to the one who'd decided to compliment him rather than continue demeaning the blissfully unaware golem. She was a little girl, pale skinned with auburn hair and a cream yellow dress and matching wide-brimmed hat. She looked up at him with her big, green eyes and smiled thoughtfully before scouring the ground for a moment.

- - -'o

Astaroth, being the big lug that he was, had done little but continue sitting and thinking, drawing up nothing but blanks. Grumbling lightly, he'd almost decided to start smashing things with his axe when he felt the tiniest of hands tugging at his wristband. He scowled at what he saw: another one of those children, this time with the most daring of nerves it seemed, or the greatest stupidity, for none would approach Astaroth alone lest they wished for a painful death.

But this one did not falter at his foul expression, she neither quivered nor shook; her eyes met his own, and there was but a moment of silence before the girl held up her other hand. Pinched lightly between her thumb and forefinger was a daisy, petals of the purest white and a bud of bright, sunny yellow in the middle. "Here, Mister. I picked it for you," the girl said, reaching just a little bit higher.

The giant's expression went from annoyance to confusion. The girl had just offered him a flower, a very small present coming from a very small girl. He plucked it from her hand softly and began to stare at it with a furrowed brow. The flower meant something to the girl, but of what it could be Astaroth had only the slightest of ideas. Did she want to be… friends?

"What's your name, Mister?"

Astaroth started, his concentration broken, and looked at the girl again. "My name?"

"Uh-huh."

"I am Astaroth."

"Mister Roth?"

Astaroth's face became irritated again.

"No. Astaroth."

"Assroth?"

He smashed his fist into the ground in anger. "No, _Astaroth_!"

"Tarsroth?"

"No! As-tah-roth!"

He pounded the ground with both his fists this time, alternating them a few times before stopping.

"Rastarth?"

The giant roared into the sky, bellowing as loud as he could, "_ASTAROOOOTH!_"

"Asatroth?"

The girl looked up at him with an expression that read that she was trying very hard to say his name right, but couldn't quite get it.

Astaroth sighed in defeat. Placing on hand on top of his head he conceded, "Mister Roth." The girl grinned widely.

"My name's Emily."

Astaroth grunted in reply, "Emily?"

"Yep."

At that, the girl skipped away merrily, leaving Astaroth to contemplate further on the now crushed daisy in his hand.


	3. A Strange Breeze

"Honey, it's time to go home!"

Emily, hearing her mother's voice, merrily skipped to the woman. She was quite tall, had bright red hair and green eyes, and a rather shapely figure. She smiled widely as Emily showed up. "Hi, Mom!"

"Hello dear. Come on, let's get in the car. What would you say to some ice cream before we get home?"

Emily nodded enthusiastically as she clambered into the back seat, buckling herself in.

A few minutes down the road, Emily said, "Hey Mom! You'll never guess who I met today!"

Still smiling faintly, the mother, Jane Blackthorne, asked, "Who would that be?"

"I got to meet Mister Roth! He's a giant."

"Oh, really? A giant?"

"Uh-huh. He's big and tall and all muscley and he's got tan skin-"

"Honey, you know you shouldn't be talking about people just because they're colored differently."

"But Mom, that's not it. He was real nice and I gave him a flower!"

Jane's expression faltered. "Nice? What do you mean, _nice_?"

Emily bounced a little bit. "He scared off some mean boys and told me his name, and he has a big heart, too!"

Jane still was not relieved. "Really, a big heart? How big?"

Emily giggled. "REAL big. It's so big, it sticks right out of his chest!"

After that, Jane was silent. This had to have been the product of Emily's imagination, she was sure of it. She knew her daughter had a wild mind and a knack for coming up with some of the silliest things, but a man with his heart coming from his chest? Maybe it was something she got from watching too many cartoons…


	4. Rolling Hills

While Astaroth continued to sit and ponder ponderously in his pondering spot, many of the other children, playing around on the big toy, would be constantly glancing nervously in his direction. "What do you think we should do?" one of the boys, brown-haired and eyed, asked to another.

"I dunno, Billy," replied a blue-eyed blonde. "Maybe we should try and bug him until he goes away. He's not nice, and all he does is sit there and scare us."

"Alright."

The two kids, Billy and Wade, jumped from one of the platforms and made their way to the giant.

- - -'O

The daisy, still quite smashed, laid in Astaroths wide palm. He'd never had a friend before. He'd never even thought of having one. But this Emily girl, she didn't give a crap, not about how big he was, how mean he was or how scary he was. Back home, even fiends like Nightmare and Lizardman looked at him like he was some kind of unnatural freak, worse in nature than they were. Then again, Nightmare thought of everything as inferior, so it was probably just a sense that everything was beneath him and unworthy of respect.

Emily may not have found him unpleasant, but all the children were mildly annoying.

"Hey, fatso!"

Astaroth's expression became stony upon the sound of the child's voice. Scratch the previous statement, they were _very_ annoying.

He turned his head in their direction, trying to put on his meanest, most frightening face he could muster. One of the boys faltered, but the other kept going at him. Before Astaroth knew what was going on, the kid was dancing around him, making faces and poking him. "Go away!" he yelled, trying to catch the boy but failing miserably.

Finally, after about twenty seconds, Astaroth managed to catch him by his waistband, his sausage fingers grabbing the kid by his underwear. Lifting him up, Astaroth winced slightly when the boy whined, "Aah! Wedgie!"

Before Astaroth was able to throw him away, the other that had followed shouted, "Wade!" and ran full-boar at the giant, leaping and smashing into his bald head. Billy wrapped his arms around Astaroth's neck and refused to let go. "Graagh!" he roared, dropping Wade on the ground.

The blonde one then yelled out to the rest of the kids at the playground, "_DOGPILE!_" before jumping and getting Astaroth in the stomach.

Astaroth flailed around for a bit before finally grabbing both Wade and Billy and holding them around the middle with one hand. Again, his attempt to make them go away was thwarted by children, although this time it was by a swarm of children; children of all sorts, shapes and sizes glomped all over him, pushing him to the ground and pinning him there. There had to be at least a dozen, right around three hundred pounds of child all over his body, spread over him just enough to prevent him from throwing them off.

He stopped struggling, but instead bellowed as loud as he possibly could, "_GERROFF MEEE!_" his voice slightly muffled from one of them sitting on his face. Just as quickly as he'd been smothered he was relieved of the weight, and the children all scrambled away before he could do anything. He roared in frustration unintelligibly before deciding that he would get back at them. He didn't know how at the time, but he knew he would, somehow.


	5. Sack of Grain

The afternoon had grown late, and the children had left. There were a few people left, though they were in a different area, all of them being teenagers attempting to find a spot to be hopelessly romantic with one another. Astaroth scoffed at them. They were wasting their time; there were so many other things worthwhile than awkwardly wooing each other until they could finally kiss, doing it so clumsily and making fools of themselves. They could be doing something like practicing with fighting, getting ready to pillage or go to war.

That actually sounded like a good idea. There were many valuables about in a place so large, of that Astaroth was certain. He decided to do just that, and hefted his axe to his shoulder as he walked from the park and to the street.

Such a magnificent place, it was! Everything, though the stone it was set in was a cool grey, shone with such luster! The buildings, coated in squares of glass, reflected each and every little detail of what surrounded them with an image as sharp as a mirror. Even the little white clouds were perfect. Astaroth, though he was not the sort to look at the sky, could not help but bend backwards and marvel at the enormous structures around him.

Unfortunately for him, he was not aware of the other things that would normally inspire awe that were about him; those buildings were quite literally the largest things he'd ever seen. One of those other objects, it just so happened, was a car.

Astaroth had just stepped from the sidewalk mindlessly, and it wasn't until the horn blared at him that he turned to see a large object about the size of a horse cart flying in his direction at a speed he'd only seen the supernatural travel.

"WAAAAGH- HOOF!"

The impact was hard enough to make Astaroth fly through the air like a large rock. He was airborne for about ten feet before hitting the ground and rolling another five. The car skidded to a halt just inches from his face, and motivated him to leap to his feet and scramble away. When he was on the sidewalk, Astaroth finally felt the effects kick in, and his world began to swim, his side cramping up quite painfully.

The driver jumped from the car and ran to him, making sure to stay on the side opposite of the gigantic axe, and asked, "Hey man, you need some help!"

Astaroth shoved him away, growling, "Go away…!"

He'd felt worse from other things, such as Lizardman thrusting the blunt head of his smaller axe into the golem's stomach, or taking a swat from Siegfried with that blasted sword of his, but that by no means meant that he enjoyed the crash. But, regardless, he took it like a champ and walked away. Nobody followed him, just as common sense would have told anyone, and he told himself that it would most likely be a better idea to never go into the street again.


	6. Bouquet

Oh, thank goodness, it was Saturday! The weekend, a time for naught but play, had arrived! Emily jumped from her mom's car and ran off into the park. It was only ten in the morning, and so there were still some traces of dew in the grass, leaving the soles of her sandals moist as she merrily made her way. Her main concern was to show her mom just how big and nice and cuddly Mister Roth was. She'd show her, show her and get her mom to understand that he was a good person.

- - - 'O

Astaroth had contemplated about the flower all night, wondering just how he should take it. First and foremost, there was that Emily had intended it as a gesture of friendship. A friend… his pondering decided that, if he got a friend, not much that was bad could come of it, and if something did happen anyway, he could fix it by smashing something. Probably some_one_.

Either way, he felt that if she would give him a flower, he would give her a flower too. But what kind? There were so many different ones floating about in the park. Buttercups, dandelions, daisies…

Then, his eyes settled on one bunch of them. The biggest, brightest and pinkest flowers of them all. Setting his axe down, he made his way to that group of flowers; he'd have Emily a bouquet by the time he was done.

- - - 'O

"Come on, Mom! He's around here somewhere!"

Emily was running, and though she was fast, Jane could keep up just by power walking. They reached the spot that Emily had last seen Mister Roth, but she couldn't find him anywhere. Had he left? If he did, that would be so mean! She kept looking around, but he was nowhere to be found. Her eyes had begun to well up with tears as she cried out, "Mister Roth! Where are you?" Jane walked up to her now very sad daughter ad knelt down. She patted her on the back and said, don't worry, it'll be okay. Those imaginary friends of yours will always be-"

Jumping from behind the trunk of a considerably large pine, Astaroth landed in front of the two as he yelled "SURPRISE!" In his hands he held an eight-foot sakura tree, dark red leaves and tender, pink petals of velvet. A few of them fell about Emily and Jane, scattering about.

Both girls screamed upon the startling approach, but Emily was soon laughing joyously, while her mother was flabbergasted. "Buh-buh-hub-hobba-wah-wah," she muttered.

Emily hugged Astaroth's leg, making sure not to touch the pokies around his feet. "Oh, I knew you'd come back, Mister Roth!"

That the giant in front of her wasn't grinding her daughter's bones to dust was both a shock and a relief that one would not have been able to comprehend; Jane wasn't certain if she could herself. "Honey," she said quietly, "Get away from him. _No_-"

Again, she was interrupted, though this time it was because she'd laid eyes on his chest. Protruding from it was a large, red lump, pulsating rhythmically. _His heart_. Jane's mind blanked out, and she collapsed to the ground in a heap, having fainted. Astaroth looked down at her. "Oops," he said.


	7. A Cutting

While Astaroth had carried Ms. Blackthorne to what Emily called a "car," a few things were explained to him by the girl. One, that a car could go really, REALLY fast, and two, that there were cars and trucks and vans and motorbikes and... ugh. So many of those wretched things with wheels that it made his head swim. It didn't matter to him much, as the only things he knew about them and all that he cared to know was that they were big, made of metal, and went fast enough to get someone killed.

Setting Jane down in the backseat of the car and closing the door, Astaroth looked down to the little girl beside him. She looked at him with a curious and quizzical expression. "Mister Roth?" she asked, to which he responded with a wordless grunt. "Why does your heart stick out?"

Astaroth's brow stayed level and unmoving. "I was made that way."

Emily, still confused, tilted her head to the side a bit as she continued to ask, "Why would you be born like that?"

Shaking his head, Astaroth said, "I was not born. I was made."

Emily's eyes widened like dinner plates. "_What_!" she exclaimed, "You were never a baby? Not _never_!" And again, Astaroth shook his head.

Emily frowned. "That's sad."

Simple words, they may have been, but they didn't have to be sophisticated to still trigger something. Astaroth had never been sad, not once in the years he'd been animate. It was just something he wasn't made to do, and so he never gave the idea the time to be thought over just why he never felt sadness in the first place. "Why is that sad? I have not had to waste time with childhood, and I have been able to fulfill my duties from the time I took my first breath."

Emily spun around once, her arms spread wide as she did. "It's sad because being a kid is fun!" she said jovially; she realized that this was a chance to actually get him to stop being all grumpy on the bench under the tree.

"C'mon! Let's go play with the other kids!" she said, taking hold of Astaroth's left index finger and trying to run off with him. Instead, Astaroth stayed put, amusing himself slightly at the effort that Emily was putting into trying to make him move. It made him smile a bit, and it was apparent through his mask that he was from the slight squint in his eyes.

Emily flung her arms down in frustration. "Come _on_, Mister Roth!"

Astaroth sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine then." He followed Emily out to the playground with the other children, suddenly thinking that coming along wasn't such a bad idea after all...


	8. Chasing The Wind

It was the screams. It was mostly the screams that made Astaroth bellow with laughter, his mirth shaking in a way that was both cruel and jolly at the same time, as the little ones shrieked in terror. Emily had convinced him to come to the playground, which seemed like a much better idea on paper, and Astaroth had actually found it to be great fun to watch the children flee and yell while they were being chased by a gigantic man around the playground, kicking up the wood chips that were scattered about the big toy.

Finally, he had one of them cornered, a little boy with blonde hair and great, blue eyes. closing in, Astaroth bent down to get to face-level with the boy, and raised his hands up like he was going to grab him and take him away, ne'er to be seen again. The boy, named Michael, cringed in fear as those enormous hands raised up just a bit more, casting their shadows over him. He prepared himself for the worst, pressing himself up against a wooden post that supported the big toy. The tension in the air was so remarkably thick and heavy in the area around the two that one would have been able to cut it with a knife. Finally, Astaroth planted his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"TAG! _YOU'RE IT_!" the tremendous golem roared, nose-to-nose with Michael before dashing away.


	9. Strange Fauna

Gathered all around Astaroth were the children, sitting and hanging onto every single word as though it was their last drop of water in a desert, their eyes never leaving the monstrous man. He was on his feet, using his hands and making poses to help them visualize his story.

"He was then a beast, a lizard on two legs, a freak, a thing that was not meant to be." Astaroth hunched over, taking a bestial position very similar to that of his former partner's, making a loud growl to emphasize his point. "Rrraaarrrrrr!"

He leaned further down, resting his hands on his knees to help maintain his balance. "He was called Lizardman, and his mission was to help me find Soul Edge, the most powerful sword in the world. But, he didn't just look for the sword." The golem's voice became very quiet, a sinister tone twisted into his words. "Do you know what he did on the side?"

The kids shook their heads, some of them muttering "Uh-uh."

"Do you wish to know what he did?"

Some of the kids nodded, while other sat wide-eyed in dread. "You are absolutely _certain_ you wish to know?" he whispered, leaning even further. Many of them were too scared to do anything but stare; Emily was the only one to nod.

With a roar, Astaroth yelled out, "He _ate_ people! Men, women, children, they all fell prey to his brood!" He then held up his arms, his hands gnarled into a shape not unlike Aeon's claws. "He especially liked the children, such tender, succulent things. In fact, just thinking about it is making me... _hungry_."

The little children were either scared stiff, fleeing as fast as their legs could take them, or screaming in horror. Emily's spine seemed to have become jelly, as she'd fallen to her back after jumping out of her skin, shrieking in sheer terror. "No, Mister Roth!" she pleaded, "Don't eat me!"

Astaroth shook with mirth, his bellowing laughter to be heard throughout the park. "Hahahahaaah!" He dropped to one knee and then pulled Emily to her feet. "Fear not, I do not eat. I... TICKLE!"

Laughing while she was chased, Emily dashed as Mister Roth continued to pursue her, his thick fingers reaching out to grip her sides.


	10. Thermals

The playground was rumbling with both the clunking of footfalls upon the thick beams and planks that made up the big toy, as well as the cheery yells, whoops, and shouts of the little children that played atop it. Emily herself had climbed up to the top of the slide and heaved herself onto the small canopy just above it. Astaroth had been running around on the big toy as well, avoiding Michael, who was supposed to be 'it'.

The golem made a mad dash across the wooden bridge, leaving Michael in his dust. What he hadn't expected, however, was to find the hand of another child that was trying to get out of the way directly in his path, about to be crushed underfoot. With a great stumble and a mighty grunt, he had managed to avoid hearing the sickening- though, in Astaroth's case, mostly pleasing- crunch of broken bones.

What he heard instead was the snapping and pattering of the wood chips that were scattered around the toy; he had leapt over the edge and off of the big toy.

"You're out!" cried Michael.

Astaroth looked up at him in protest. "I am not!"

Michael leaned down further and said, "Yuh-huh! You stepped in lava Mister Roth, so you gotta wait until this game's done!"

That elected an angry roar from Astaroth, who had muffled it by keeping his lips shut tightly. He'd put so much effort into it that what of his cheeks was visible was becoming red.

With a sigh, Astaroth managed to cool down, and hunched his shoulders as he shambled away. "_Not_ fair... stupid kids..." he muttered to himself.


End file.
